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3 flight crew members killed in medical copter crash

Associated Press
Published 11:44 a.m. ET April 27, 2018

This image provided by the Oneida County Sheriff's Office in Rhinelander, Wis., shows the wreckage of a medical helicopter that was found April 27, 2018, after it crashed in Hazelhurst, Wis.(Photo: AP)

Hazelhurst, Wis. – A medical helicopter crashed in a heavily wooded area in northern Wisconsin, killing all three people on board, authorities said Friday.

Search and rescue crews found the Ascension Health Spirit helicopter early Friday after Oneida County sheriff’s dispatchers received a call that it was missing, according to Chief Deputy Dan Hess. The wreckage was found near Hazelhurst, a small town about 150 miles northwest of Green Bay.

The three people killed were flight crew members, and no patients were on board when the helicopter crashed, Hess said. The victims’ identities have not been released pending notification of their families.

The three are believed to have died on impact, Oneida County Medical Examiner Larry Mathein told Wausau TV station WAOW. He said the body of the pilot is being sent for an autopsy under standard protocol.

Authorities said the last known contact with the helicopter was at 10:55 p.m. Thursday. Dispatchers received a call that the chopper was missing 25 minutes later, and a search was launched.